Natural resources and the environment

The overall goal of environmental policy efforts in Sweden is that the next generation is to be able to take over a society in which the major environmental problems have been solved.

The Riksdag has established 16 national environmental quality objectives. These objectives describe quality and conditions for Sweden's environmental, natural and cultural resources that are ecologically sustainable in the long term. The objectives also describe the direction environmental work is to take. A number of the objectives concern agriculture, some of them directly, others more indirectly.

Environmental objectives that to a greater or lesser degree are linked to agriculture include:

• A varied agricultural landscape
• Zero eutrophication
• A non-toxic environment
• Flourishing lakes and streams
• High-quality groundwater
• Thriving wetlands
• A balanced marine environment
• Flourishing coastal areas and archipelagos
• A rich flora and fauna

Of these objectives, the agricultural sector has the primary responsibility for A varied agricultural landscape. Clear links to agriculture are also found in the objectives Zero eutrophication, A non-toxic environment and Thriving wetlands.